A method and a hearing device system are known from WO-A-01/20965 and US-A-2002/0037087 describing the same teaching. According to this known teaching, a momentary acoustic surround situation is being identified in the hearing device of the hearing system, and a corresponding hearing program—or the corresponding set of parameters saved in the hearing device, respectively—, which is most suitable for the identified acoustic surround situation, is being selected automatically. In order to provide to the hearing device user the possibility to switch off the automatic identification of the acoustic surround situation and the therewith connected automatic selection of a hearing program, an input unit, for example a switch at the hearing device or at a remote control, is provided, which input unit can be activated by the hearing device user.
Furthermore, hearing devices are known which provide the possibility to the hearing device user to manually select a most suitable hearing program out of a number of different hearing programs. The selection is only based on the judgment of the hearing device user himself and can be carried out by activating a remote control or a switch at the hearing device. If, for example, the hearing device user selects one hearing program out of five, he must know the predefined sequence of the selectable hearing programs in order to be able to get to the desired program. In other words, if, for example, the second hearing program is currently used and the hearing device user desires to select the forth hearing program, he must activate the remote control or the switch at the hearing device, respectively, twice. Accordingly, the hearing device user must know which hearing program is best suitable for the momentary acoustic situation, and, in addition, he must know at what position the desired hearing program is. For many hearing device users, this procedure of selecting a desired hearing program is difficult and awkward.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and a hearing system, respectively, which support the hearing device user in its best possible way to help select the best suitable hearing program for a momentary acoustic surround situation, while, at the same time, giving the hearing device user the possibility to enter his personal wish by changing from a selected hearing program to another.